Especially in the field of surgery, but not exclusively in this field, there is a pervasive need for a holder that can grasp an instrument or a tool, and can hold it in an adjusted position. An example is a brain retractor. In the use of the brain retractor, the patient is suitably located and fixed. Then an incision and an opening are made. Thereafter a retractor is inserted into the brain and is pulled on to draw a portion of the brain aside so the surgeon can have access to some deeper region.
It is, of course, a potential solution to have a nurse or another surgeon hold the retractor, but this crowds the area, and is tiring and wasteful. Accordingly, holders for retractors have been devised which can be mounted to something and then bent to a desired configuration where they will hold the brain, and hopefully they will do the job. The problem with such devices is that they are difficult to adjust precisely, and after they are adjusted they tend to creep. Therefore the surgeon must sometimes bother with them just when all of his attention should be directed to his primary objective.
It is an object of this invention to provide a holder which can readily be set to an adjusted position, and will stay there, without requiring bending or other distortive manipulations. Its adjusted position is retained by the mere tightening of a screw or thumb wheel.